Will Pipes Freeze in Grant County, OR? 53 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Grant County
In a normal year Grant County, OR gets 53 nights at or below 20°F, the point where bare pipes in a garage, attic or outside wall start to freeze. That is more than 66% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 178 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 53 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 14 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 53 nights of risk to 14 nights. A 12 ft heat-tape kit runs $17 to $37; an average burst-pipe repair is about $500.
Month by month
Nights at or below 20°F in a normal year.
First 32°F night is usually around 09/14, last around 06/05. For 20°F: 11/01 to 03/31.
How cold Grant County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 21°F; the coldest month, December, averages 20°F overnight. 11 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, November, December: 14 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21°F | 22°F | 26°F | 30°F | 37°F | 41°F | 47°F | 45°F | 39°F | 32°F | 26°F | 20°F |
Grant County next to its neighbours
Baker County, OR, 107 km east, gets 76 nights below 20°F to Grant County's 53 nights. Wheeler County, OR, 84 km west, gets 34 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County, OR | - | 178 nights | 53 nights | 21°F |
| Wheeler County, OR | 84 km west | 147 nights | 34 nights | 25°F |
| Baker County, OR | 107 km east | 202 nights | 76 nights | 19°F |
| Morrow County, OR | 113 km northwest | 107 nights | 18 nights | 28°F |
| Crook County, OR | 114 km west | 186 nights | 60 nights | 23°F |
| Union County, OR | 120 km northeast | 137 nights | 30 nights | 25°F |
| Umatilla County, OR | 124 km north | 103 nights | 18 nights | 28°F |
Grant County within OR
Grant County ranks 9 of 36 OR counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Baker County, OR at 76 nights, with a 20°F average winter low. The fewest is Lincoln County, OR: under 1 night, winter lows near 40°F. At 3,938 ft, Grant County sits 1,921 ft above the state's median county elevation of 2,017 ft.
What to do here
- Treat it as a building fix, not a night-of routine: insulate, heat tape, seal crawlspace vents.
- An automatic leak shutoff pays for itself if one burst is avoided.
- Know where the main shutoff is before the first hard freeze.
Interior pipes have a threshold too: the four freeze points.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Long Creek, OR, 25 km away (fair match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.